Symphony of Apocalypse
by SpacePirate Khan
Summary: It seems Ganondorf wasn't the true evil of Hyrule, and now a mysterious darkness threatens to consume the land. Does Link never get any rest? LinkRuto, plus other pairings later. Guess what? Chapter 4's here! The jerk finally updated!
1. Good News, Bad News

Disclaimer:  
I do not own Zelda. Jeeze, this is the  
Sequel to a story that has 8 DISCLAIMERS!  
EIGHT! WHy must I continue writing them?  
Shouldn't you people get the POINT by now?  
... actually I heard they're cracking down on non-profit fanfics without  
disclaimers. No clue why. It's kinda sad really. But alas,  
we must write them.

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--------Author's Note:  
Guess what? I decided to write the sequel. Did you honestly think I'd leave  
all that openness at the end if I didn't plan on writing one? Ganondorf's  
fate is unknown, Garland is mysteriously alive again, and an ominous  
female oracle has foreseen an evil powerful enough to destroy Hyrule...  
Not to mention what happens to Link and Ruto after the end of the last  
story. No, not during THAT particular part of their life. This is PG-13  
max, not NC-17. (Yes, I realize rating system has mysteriously  
changed after all this time. I prefer to live in the past. The past rocks my socks.)

As for researching the books or whatever.. um... no, I don't know. No clue  
what your talking about whatsoever. Thanks for the good review though.

Although this story follows only the plot of Ocarina of Time. I'm not a big fan  
of Majora's Mask, therefore only played till I saved some Deku person. Also not  
a fan at all of the Wind Waker game, and don't expect to see Vaati either. As for  
the AWESOME Zelda Game coming out soon (well, from the time of this writing),  
well, I don't think it'll mess up this story's background any. If it does, fill  
in the plotholes. This is Fanfiction for crying out loud, I shouldn't even  
have to be explaining all of this! Agh!

To fans of the first story, apologies for taking so long in writing this. In my  
defense, I've waited over a year for someone's story to update to no avail...  
won't mention names, though, as I've done the same thing with some of my  
stories, sadly. sigh

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()Symphony of Apocalypse()  
Chapter One: Good News, Bad News

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--------Deep in the heart of ancient, forgotten ruins, in a room with large torches  
ablaze with green flames for lighting, a tall man in a black cloak slowly walked  
towards a woman with long, fiery red hair and shimmering emerald eyes that seemed  
to glow through the poor lighting of the room. Many shorter cloaked figures stood  
around the pair as the tallest one knelt before the woman, all of them holding up  
their right fist in an odd sort of salute, revealing a strange tattoo burned into their  
flesh.  
--------"I believe you failed yet again, Ganondorf." the woman said icily, glaring  
down at the man before her. "This is the second time you've failed, even with the  
power I've granted you. What do you have to say for yourself?"  
--------"It was not my fault, Oracle, the shadow hylian was supposed to join  
my son, my son was supposed to live and the both of them were to aid my conquest!"  
Ganondorf said, pulling his hood down to reveal his short orange locks. "Your  
prophecy was wrong."  
--------"My prophecy only failed because of your incopetence." the woman said,  
continuing to glare at the man before her. "I never said they would aid you. And  
you decimated the opposition of the Shadow, therefore it still comes down to the  
fact you allowed a boy - not even come of age at the time - to fire off a single arrow and  
defeat you."  
--------"In all fairness, he shot three, and they were enchanted with--"  
--------"So because he threw a little magic into them, the so-called King of the  
Gerudo couldn't counter it with dark magic of his own?" the woman said in disgust.  
"You are a disgrace to the mark you bear on your wrist."  
--------"Give me another chance, my queen-"  
--------"I am no longer your queen." interrupted the woman once more, a faint green  
aura surrounding her. "You are not worthy to rule Hyrule by my side, and you have  
even lost your crown as King of the Gerudo! What HAVE you been doing these past  
few years, anyway?"  
--------"I ... I was ashamed of my defeat, and I refused to come back until I  
could prove to you I was stronger, I trained night and day-"  
--------"You should be ashamed. But I am not without mercy." she said, sitting  
back down in her black throne. "I'm going to have to find my king on my own.  
As for you, you are now nothing but my minion."  
--------"What? Surely you must be kidding!" Ganondorf exclaimed, before growling  
in pain as he fell to the ground, the tattoo burned into his wrist shining green  
as his entire body began to surge with electricity of the same color.  
--------"You dedicated your life to me for power, something I can take just as  
easily as you offered it." the woman said as Ganondorf continued writhing in  
pain. "You have the power to be useful to me still, therefore I'm giving you one  
last chance. Don't ruin it so soon by defying me."

-

--------Ganondorf gasped as the electricity around him faded and his scar, now  
smoking, ended its eerie glow. He slowly got back on one knee and bowed his  
head. "Yes, my mistress... what would you have me do?"  
--------"Just stay prepared, because I may call you at any moment for assistance."  
she said, as green flames surrounded her. "I must attend to business  
elsewhere. Remember, Ganondorf, should you defy me, I will banish you from this  
realm once again, except it won't be nearly as pleasant this time around."

--------And with those final words, she vanished in a pillar of green flames,  
the entire room going dark as the torches went out with her.

-

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--------Link's eyes opened for a mere moment as he began to stir, before his eyelids  
slammed shut in reaction to the blinding light of the morning sun. "Ow.. who opened  
the windows?" he said as he heard some birds chirping outside.  
--------"It's about time you woke up, you're wasting a beautiful day." reprimended  
a familiar voice as Link felt soft lips brush against his own. "Have you gotten  
lazy from all of this peace?"  
--------"I'd hardly call it peace." Link said with a smirk as he sat up in bed,  
opening his eyes & trying to adjust to the light, seeing well enough to know Ruto was  
sitting beside him now.  
--------"Oh, so the mighty hero is threatened by a few hostile animals?" Ruto said  
with a giggle. "You'll always have a few of those around, even without evil sorcerors  
and such."  
--------"I guess so..." Link replied, stretching out and yawning. Over the last several  
months, the pair had been inseperatable. Of coarse, as with every marriage there had been  
issues and little arguments after the honeymoon, but nothing the two couldn't handle.  
After the honeymoon, the two had a new house built in the Kokiri villiage big enough for  
a small family. While it may not have been their permanent home, it would suit them for  
the time being, as there was a large river that flowed through the villiage for Ruto to  
keep well hydrated, and enough dry land so Link wouldn't have to be a drowned rat the  
entire time. And of coarse, the children of the forest bothered them to play - often  
interrupting romantic moments - but for the most part it was good preparation should the  
pair have a child of their own.

-

--------"So, what's on the agenda today?" Link said, quickly catching a couple of muffins as  
Ruto tossed them at him. The Zoran grabbed a muffin for herself and began eating breakfast  
as well. Lately Ruto had been making odd, tuna-flavored muffins, and while Link wasn't particularly  
fond of these, hunger is the best spice. Zorans ate some weird things, but then to her, there were  
probably things Link ate that'd be strange as well.  
--------"Unfortunately, I can't postpone my father any longer." she said with a sigh. "He wants us  
to be a part of his business now and then, which unfortunately for us, means conversing with  
Garland once more..." she said as if she had been asked to drink poison.  
--------"I'm not much looking forward to that myself." Link said with half a muffin in his mouth.  
"I guess there's no way around it this time?"  
--------"No, father says we must learn to deal with politics, since we are next in line to the  
throne of Zora's Domain." Ruto sighed once more. "The moment I'm queen, my first act will  
be breaking our alliance with the gerudo."  
--------"Yeah, that'll be a nice change." Link agreed, finishing his second muffin around the same time  
as Ruto was done with her first. "If the Gerudo were anything better than thieves, it might be a decent  
alliance to keep."  
--------"Ugh, I think Garland would still ruin it. I hate that pompous little--" Ruto started, before gasping  
and clutching her stomach. Link jumped up and followed her as she ran into the bathroom, though she  
slammed the door in his face as she entered. He took a step back, rubbing his sore, door-assaulted  
nose as he heard the sound of vomiting from the other side of the door.  
--------"Are you alright, Ruto?" Link asked, concerned.  
--------"I'll-I'll be fine .. in a minute.." Ruto breathed as Link opened the door to her shuddering form  
in front of the toilet. "I guess I had.. one too many muffins.." Ruto said with a weak grin, her face looking  
a bit paler than usual.  
--------"I think we should get you to a doctor." Link said, crouching next to Ruto to rub her back  
softly.  
--------"No, really... I'll.. I'll be.." Ruto started to say, before she began puking into the toilet once more.

-

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--------Garland started stretching, yawning widely as the morning sun poured through his room. "Just a  
few... more minutes..." he muttered, rolling over to try to get the sun out of his face... only to go rolling off  
the edge of the bed, falling flat on his face with a thud. "... ow..." the Gerudo king muttered with a sigh, before  
standing up and groggily walking towards his bathroom to get ready for the day ahead, his hair wildly sticking  
up in many places. "I hate Mondays." he muttered along with a couple of curses as he closed the door behind  
him, entering the bathroom and hopping into the shower.

-

--------Garland turned on the shower faucet, grabbed a bottle of shampoo and tried to squeeze some if it into  
his palm, to no avail. "... stupid shampoo." he said, looking at the bottle with a groggy glare as he dropped it onto  
the floor of the shower, grabbing another bottle and squeezing it to the same effect, both bottles empty. "... stupid  
shampoo." he repeated himself, dropping the second bottle and reaching for a third with an odd shaped back  
to it. He squeezed it as hard as he could out of frustration - only to have shampoo spray out of what he assumed  
was the bottom of the bottle and into his eyes.

--------"ARGH!" he yelled in agony as his eyes burned, staggaring a bit as he dropped his third slippery bottle  
of shampoo, trying to wash some of the soap out of his eyes. As he took a step back, however, he accidentally  
stepped on one of the discarded bottles of shampoo, losing his balance as the bottle gave way to the slippery  
shower floor, plunging the Gerudo king onto the cold hard ground.

-

--------Garland lay with his head being sprayed with shower water, very sore from the impact as he stared at  
the ceiling, his eyes still burning. "... I really hate mondays..."

-

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--------After several more obnoxious accidents, the Gerudo King finally walked out of his bedroom and into  
the Gerudo fortress. He had his recently polished black suit of armor on, a golden tri-force shining on the  
chestplate and a miniature one atop each of his gauntlets. Behind him, a red cape flowed gracefully, and a  
pair of regal longswords were strapped to his sides. In the face, he was the spitting image of Ganondorf,  
except his features didn't seem quite as evil somehow, nor was his nose quite as large, and he looked a lot  
younger. His skin was slightly lighter as well, but he still had enough of a resemblance to his father so that one  
would know they were related. As he turned the corner and began walking down another long hallway,  
a Zoran with pieces of pale blue armor walked up to greet him with a half bow. "Your Highness, I thank you  
for letting me stay in your fortress tonight." the Zoran said. "It would have been a long trip back, and the  
night is dangerous these days..."  
--------"Yes, that's part of what I need to discuss with your King." Garland said as they walked out of the  
fortress and into a wide canyon, a little sand kicking up in the breeze around them. The Gerudo King and the  
Zoran ambassitor began heading towards the exit to Garland's realm, countless Gerudo thieves filling the  
dirt streets, all female. Garland sighed, looking a bit irritated. "I still haven't found the time to find myself a  
suitable queen because of dealing with it."  
------"You... can't find a queen, your highness?" the Zoran said, giving Garland an odd look. "You're  
surrounded by at least a hundred females, how could you not have the time?"  
------"I have more problems to deal with than you can imagine." Garland said with a weak smirk as they  
left the desert fortress and began walking across a long bridge leading to Hyrule. "Some people seem to  
think I'm a tyrant, so working on my image is becoming an increasing problem as well."  
------"Yes, word of you becoming mad with power for a time has reached our ears as well." the Zoran  
ambassitor said. "We wouldn't hear of it, but regardless of whether or not it is the truth, we prefer to  
live in the present, where we remain good friends."  
------"Glad to hear it." Garland said as the ground around them began to get greener with each step,  
Hyrule drawing near. He glanced over to a few trees nearby to see a black cloaked figure watching him,  
glaring at him through the darkness of their hood. He gave a little smirk to the ominous presence before  
continuing his journey to the Zora's Domain.

-

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--------Meanwhile, in the main cavern of Zora's Domain, covered in ivory walls & filled with crystal clear  
water reflecting light along the walls from a somewhat small hole in the ceiling, a Hylian in a blue tunic with  
a pair of swords strapped to his back and a young, pale white Zoran princess walked together up the  
wide, winding pathway that spirals along the edges of the main cavern's walls from the entrance to the  
throne room. "Ugh, I can't believe we have to wait atleast half an hour for some so-called doctor to  
figure out what's wrong with me!" Ruto said with an exhasperated sigh.  
------"Atleast you don't feel sick at the moment." Link said. "We can go ahead and get this meeting between  
nations over with, then go back and get some medicine for whatever this is."  
------"Or maybe Garland won't make it!" Ruto said with an optimistic grin. "I haven't seen his ugly mug  
around here all day, and I'm sure that pest wouldn't give me this much peace if he were here."  
------"I highly doubt we'd be that lucky." said Link as they reached the entrance to the throne room, passing  
two Zorans in heavy pale blue armor carrying huge spears. "He's probably just a little late."  
------"You're probably right." Ruto sighed. "But I can dream, can't I?"

-

--------"Welcome back, Ruto!" the large Zoran King said with a wide grin. "It's been too long since your  
last visit, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about us!"  
------"No, I'd just grown tired of getting rude stares every time I'm here." Ruto said, crossing her arms.  
"Honestly, we can't do a thing with our people, can we? They're like children."  
------"Yes, I'm afraid we can't force good manners upon everyone." the king sighed. "But perhaps you  
two can find a way once you take my place."  
------"I don't think I can imagine ruling over everyone here..." Ruto said, looking back at the exit to the  
throne room, before turning back to face her father.  
------"Well, that's why I'm going to be letting you help me with my problems as training." the King said. "I've  
never taken the time to fully teach you the ways of being a queen, and I'm sure Link has never even  
considered being a king."  
------"No, sir, I just do what I can to help everyone." Link added in.  
------"And that's a good attitude to have. I don't see why anyone disapproves of you, my boy."  
------"Apologies for my late arrival."

------Link and Ruto turned around to see Garland striding into the throne room. The Gerudo king stopped  
at Link and Ruto to give them a quick bow. "I trust you two are doing well lately."  
------"We were until you showed up..." Ruto muttered bitterly, turning back to her father and attempting to  
ignore Garland completely. Garland smirked, before turning his attention back to the king.  
------"I thank you for the opportunity to discuss important problems with the future rulers." Garland said,  
giving the current Zora king a bow as well. His eyes looked a bit wearier than usual, but aside from that he  
kept a strong composure. "And for agreeing to work together with the Gerudo. It's been one of the biggest  
headaches I've had to deal with."  
------"We had similar problems a few years ago, except the creatures were Hylian, and seemed to be  
made of pure darkness." the Zoran King said.  
------"What's going on?" Ruto asked. "I haven't heard of anything like that lately..."  
------"Well obviously you've been quite too busy at night to notice anything out of the ordinary." Garland  
said with a smirk, which was quickly wiped away as Ruto slapped his cheek.  
------"Don't you dare speak so suggestively in my presence again!" Ruto demanded, glaring at the Gerudo  
King, who was rubbing his sore cheek, which sported a few thin claw marks on it.  
------"I thought I noticed some of the wildlife acting strange lately.." Link said, rubbing his chin. "Even  
thought I saw a beast with glowing eyes a few weeks ago."  
------"That's precisely the sightings we've been having." Garland said, before turning back to the king.  
"And from what I've heard from your ambassitor, the Zorans are having the same problems."  
------"How are a few odd creatures a problem?" Ruto asked.  
------"You know those Zoran guards that wind up missing atleast once a month?" the Zoran king said  
with a sigh.  
------"And likewise, I've been losing my people to the beasts." Garland said with a scowl, as he started  
glancing around the room as if looking for someone. "And... I think I know the cause of it."  
------"Let me guess, they're your doing." Ruto said, narrowing her eyes at the Gerudo once more.  
------"Why would I be here seeking help if they were mine?" Garland said irritably. "Why would they be  
turning on my own people if they were mine!"  
------"Because they knew too much and you had to secretly get rid of them, maybe?" Ruto said, raising  
her voice a little.  
------"I wouldn't betray my people if my life depended on it!" Garland snarled.  
------"Ruto, Garland, end your bickering. There are more important things at hand." the Zoran King said,  
------"Yes, my liege." Garland replied.  
------"Yes, father." Ruto simultaneously added, grudgingly.  
------"Now, what were you talking about before you were interrupted?" Ruto's father continued.  
------"As I was saying, some of my scientists were researching one of the beasts we captured alive."  
Garland explained. "We found a parasitic organism latched into its brain. We captured several other  
speciments, and the organisms seemed to vary in size - even allowed some to incubate inside a living  
test subject."  
------"Why didn't you try to help them?" Link asked.  
------"It's science, boy. Besides, there was no way we could help them if we tried." Garland continued.  
"I happen to have brought one of the specimens with me." he added, reaching into his armor and pulling  
out a bizarre little creature. Its skin was black, and it was lying limp within his grasp, odd scarlike  
markings on its back forming a picture of an eye of some sort. It had four spiderlike legs and one long,  
tentacle like tail, all of which were dangling below it loosely.  
------"That thing is disgusting!" Ruto commented, holding her stomache and closing her eyes. "I think  
I'm going to be sick again..."  
------"I thought you liked bugs, Ruto." the Zora king said, puzzled.  
------"That ... thing, is no bug..." said Ruto with a shiver.

------"It's unlike any other natural creature seen in Hyrule. As I said previously, it's a parasite, making  
its way quickly into the skull and attaching this," Garland said, pinching the tentacle between two fingers  
and wiggling a bit for emphasis, "into the brain stem very carefully, then it inserts its other 'legs' into other  
key locations in the brain to remove certain inhibitions and affect its behavior to make it aggressive,  
as well as control its thoughts to a certain degree."  
------"Have you found any weakness in them?" Link asked.  
------"We've found no way to safely remove the creature from the brain, and any colonies they've attempted  
to create in our controlled enviroments always revolve around feeding from the creature's bloodstream,  
and then using the brain of a deceased creature to incubate their eggs. I fear they have a colony buried  
somewhere in the fields of Hyrule, and if left unchecked, their population could skyrocket." Garland  
explained.  
------"What if they make their way into a person's mind?" Link continued to question. "Is there any way  
to save them?"  
------"We have, unfortunately, lost a couple of our biologists to the parasites." Garland said with a  
scowl. "There is no apparent way of killing the creature other than taking it away from its food source,  
and it latches itself into the brain so well, it's impossible to avoid irreversable damage to the brain  
stem. No one has survived the extraction of a parasite yet, and anything infected by it loses all sane  
reasoning."  
------"You probably just ripped it out carelessly." Ruto said coldly.  
------"Do you honestly think I didn't do everything I cou... You know what, forget it." Garland said,  
so irritated it looked as if you could see a vein in his head. "The important thing is, I know where their  
hive is, and how to kill them, and I know Link is powerful enough to destroy them all."  
------"Me!" Link said, his eyes widening a bit. "Why me?"  
------"Why else would I make sure you two were to join me in this meeting?" Garland said with a  
smirk. "I'm far too busy to deal with it myself, and I know Link wouldn't let Hyrule be doomed if  
he could do something to stop it."  
------"Or you could be sending him into a trap." Ruto said, glaring at the Gerudo king.  
------"I know what I'm talking about, and I'm telling the truth!" Garland growled. "I'm under too  
much stress to deal with your sass today! Now look, Link," Garland said, shoving a map at  
Link, who quickly grabbed it. Garland suddenly seemed very hasty, as if he'd just noticed something  
somewhere. "I don't have time to argue. I marked on this map of Hyrule where the hive is, now  
once you get in there you need to--"

-

------Before he could finish his hasty explanation, however, Garland's entire body began to pulsate  
in green electricity as he fell to the ground, screaming in agony. "Find... the ... queen...!" he yelled  
out between screams, before his eyes rolled behind his head & closed, his body falling limp as the green  
electricity slowly subsided, leaving his slightly scorched form lying on the ground, covered in smoke.  
Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the smoking body of Garland and a pile of ashes where the little  
parasite used to be. "What just happened?" Link said.  
------"Someone get this man to the hospital!" the king demanded.  
------"We'll take him." Link said, grabbing the Gerudo and beginning to drag his smoking body out  
of the throne room.  
------"What!" Ruto exclaimed, following after him. "After everything he's done--"  
------"He seems to've changed since then." Link said. "Besides, we need to go to the medical ward  
anyway, they might have your results by now." he continued, dragging Garland down the path in  
the main cavern, Ruto following him with her arms crossed and a ticked off facial expression.  
------"You're far too trusting..." she muttered, glaring at Garland's unconscious form. "Once  
a villain, always a villain..."  
------"My twin ended up saving us." Link said as they neared the entrance to the medical ward  
once again. "He used to be worse than Garland."  
------"He tried to kill you, Link! He tried to marry me!" Ruto said with a shudder. "We still haven't  
got the sapphire back..."  
------"We'll ask him about it when he wakes up." Link said. "I'm sure he forgot."

------"Oh my goodness, what happened to him?" the zoran Doctor said as they entered the room.  
------"We have no clue. It looked like sorcery." Link answered. "Someone didn't want him to tell  
us something..."  
------"Well, we'll do what we can." the doctor said, clapping his hands as several other zorans  
rushed in to pick up the Gerudo king and take him away. "As for you two... I've got some  
great news." the doctor said with a smile.  
------"Ah, so Ruto isn't too sick?" Link said with a grin of his own.

-

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-

------The sun began setting in the skies of Hyrule, a few clouds floating through the crimson sky.  
The sound of the nightlife, including crickets chirping, filled the air, along with a chilly breeze to  
accompany the slowly increasing darkness. And near the entrance to Zora's domain, despite  
the thunderous roars of the falls, the hundreds of nocturnal creatures chattering, and the sound of  
rushing water all the way through the canyon leading to the Domain, you could still hear the  
sound of a certain Zoran queen screaming. "I'M WHAT?"

-

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End Chapter


	2. Heart of Darkness

Disclaimer:  
I don't own Zelda. Otherwise, I'd make a lot of  
really freaking awesome Zelda games! Yay. Until I  
rule the world, however, I'll have to stick to fanfiction.

-

--------Author's Note:  
----Yep. I think you can assume what happened at the end of last  
story. Well, with Ruto anyway. Garland... yeah. He's in pain. Lots of it.  
The parasites still need a name. And the Oracle hasn't been seen since  
she vanished. Expect a huge time lapse after this chapter sometime, because  
I can - it'll either be after this chapter or after the next, maybe one after that, can't decide quite yet.  
Is Garland truly a good guy now, or does he have a secret agenda with his  
father's cult? And where is Shadow Link? To those concerned, don't worry, I  
still have twists of cruel fate planned ahead. Not so sure about Link staying in the  
Domain for three chapters in a row though. Currently debating what the name of a future  
young halfbreed should be. Also debating who Shadow Link will romance with...  
----I'd like to give a thanks to onewingedbatosai for continuing the good reviews  
so soon - hope this story lives up to the first! And a second thanks to Ruthie for  
helping me pass my writer's block in this story! And to all who review, as reviews are like  
oxygen for a writer. The more you review, the more inclined I am to finish a  
story. Added Note: Fixed the name mixup. Can't believe I did that again. Chapter Three will  
be under construction as soon as I'm not swamped in schoolwork!

-(WARNING: This story is rated T because of occasional graphic violence, which begins taking  
place sometime in this chapter. It is just a story, therefor not as grotesque as actually seeing it  
would be, but it probably isn't the best thing for a child to be reading. You can likely assume which  
character is finding his psychotic way back into the storyline due to this warning...)

-

-

-

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()Symphony of Apocalypse()  
Chapter Two: Hearts of Darkness

-

-

-

--------As night fell upon the land of Hyrule, everyone was beginning to settle down to rest until  
morning came once more. It was a cold, windy night, the skies a cloud-filled pitch black except for one  
open patch just big enough for the moon to shine through. A young red haired woman put the last  
of her ranch's livestock away for the evening, shivering a bit from the chilly air blowing through the small  
ranch in the middle of Hyrule Field. "It shouldn't be getting this cold for another month atleast..." she  
said between chattering teeth, wrapping her small brown cloak tighter around herself as she began walking  
across the small ranch's grazing lands to the cozy litle house where she and her father lived. As the young  
lady drew near to her home, however, she heard an eerie crying off in the field. "What in the world..?" she  
muttered, stopping at the door to her house to listen a little more closely, the crying continuing to pierce  
the other ambient sounds of the night. "Is... is that a baby?"

------The young woman started walking towards the exit of her ranch, the sound of the crying growing  
louder as she quickened her pace. Something was wrong, she could feel it, and although she was but  
a humble ranch girl, she was determined to do something about it.

-

------The lady dashed out of her ranch, quickly staring around the huge field surrounding her, trying  
to pinpoint the location of the baby. "Get back, vile creature!" she heard someone yelling in the  
distance. She quickly pulled out a flute and began playing an odd little song, a horse neighing back in her  
ranch somewhere as she looked out in the direction of the cries, spotting four figures through the darkness.

------A brown horse with a white mane and black fur around its lower legs and tail galloped out of the  
ranch, the young woman jumping onto the horse as it sprinting by and using its reigns to guide it towards  
the source of the screaming baby. "Hurry, Epona!"

-

------Meanwhile, a ways south of the ranch, three people stood glaring at a black clad Hylian, who was  
cradling a small bundle wrapped in black in one arm, and a long, ebony blade in the other hand. The people  
consisted of a woman with long black hair, a well muscled man who looked ready to rip the hylian to shreds,  
and a smaller boy who appeared to be a preteen taking after his mother. "Give us the child." the father  
said in a deep voice. "Give her to us now!"  
------"Over my dead body!" hissed the dark Hylian icily. "The girl is mine, I'd just like to see you try to  
take her from me!" he continued, giving his long black sword a quick spin.  
------"Give us back our daughter, you wretched miscreant!" the man yelled again, pulling out a bow.  
"I'll kill you if I have to..."  
------The dark figure cackled madly at these words. "Kill me?" he laughed. "Go ahead, fire your petty  
little--"

------Before he could finish, however, the muscled man swiftly pulled back an arrow and fired it off  
before anyone could blink, the long, steel-tipped arrow piercing Shadow Link's left shoulder, making him  
nearly drop the little black bundle. He held the little one closer, his cackling ending instantly.  
------"Fool..." he said, glaring at the man, his left arm dripping black blood from the arrow. "Do you  
care so little of your child, that you would shoot at the madman carrying her?"

------The arrow in the dark one's shoulder turned as black as his tunic, disintegrating into a pile of  
ashes at his feet, the black wound slowly closing itself as the mildly psychotic hylian smirked at the  
three shocked people before him. "You'll die for your insolence." he said as he suddenly dashed  
towards the trio. The older ones stepped back, but the preteen wasn't quite so quick as the darker  
one's sword vanished, his now free hand grabbing the boy by the neck and jerking him off his  
feet, dangling him into the air. He glared at the boy, beginning to tighten his grip, the young boy  
gasping for air as his asophogus was slowly being crushed...

------"Leave those people alone!" yelled a fiery redheaded woman, leaping off her horse as it  
dashed by, the long-haired lady kicking the dark Hylian in the back, causing the monsterous  
one to fall to his knees. "Who dares attack Sh--" he started to say as he turned around to face  
the rancher, but as soon as he did, the young woman kicked him between the legs, stunning him  
instantly. The dark one fell to the ground in agony, the young woman taking the baby away from him  
and walking towards the other two, who had odd grins on their faces, the dark one releasing his  
grip on the preteen out of weakness, who kicked him in the gut with a laugh before joining his  
family.  
------"Here you go, safe and sound."  
------"Thank you so much." the woman said, taking the child and beginning to walk off with  
the father.  
------"Wait, don't you need a place to stay?" the ranch girl asked, but the three people took  
off running all of a sudden. "You shouldn't keep the baby in the cold so long!" she yelled,  
before she noticed a long black chain fly by her, wrapping around the preteen boy's ankle and  
tripping him, quickly retracting & dragging him back to the dark-clad Hylian.

------"Where are they going?" the dark Hylian hissed at the boy, jerking him up by his short  
black hair to meet him face to face. "Tell me where they're going!"  
------"None of your business!" the boy yelled at the dark one. "They'll come back and teach  
you a lesson you won't forget!"  
------"And if they don't, we will!" the ranch woman said as Epona walked back to her, the woman  
softly stroking the horse's fur. She glared at the black-clad one. "Put the boy down."  
------"Those pathetic excuses for humanoids won't be returning for you, wretched mortal." the  
dark Hylian growled. "And as such, the only value you hold for me is the ecstasy of your dying  
screams." he continued, holding his right arm out as he held the boy's hair up with his left, the long,  
shadowy blade reforming in his right hand.  
------"Let him go now!" the young woman threatened. The dark one turned and cruelly smirked at  
the woman as he slowly slid his blade into the preteen's belly, piercing clean through him, slowly slicing  
the blade up into the boy's chest, the young man screaming in agony as crimson poured from him. The  
young woman gasped, staring in horror at the sight before her, her eyes brimming with tears from a  
combination of sorrow and rage. "How could you...?" she muttered.

------"Would you happen to recall the cult worshippers rumored to be skulking around Hyrule?" Shadow  
Link said, looking at the woman with a cold stare, giving her a look as if she were an idiot as the boy  
breathed his last, gurgling breath.  
------"What does that have to do with anything!"  
------"The mark on their wrist, the flaming eye! Look at his wrist, you imbecile!" the dark one said,  
jerking the corpse's arm up to show a faintly glowing green scar on the boy's wrist. "Those you helped  
escape were also members of the very same cult! Thanks to you, I'm no closer to acquiring any  
answers than the moment I was born!" he yelled angrily, slamming the corpse into the ground and  
severing its head to vent stress, his eyes not leaving the chocolate brown eyes of the ranch girl for  
a moment as he glared at her.  
------"Well... how was I supposed to know?" she protested, jumping on her horse. "You stand there  
looking all monsterous and talking like a psychopath, what was I supposed to do?"  
------"Keep your nose out of others' business, that's what." the dark one said coldly. "If you wish to  
rectify your mistakes, you'll assist me in retrieving the child. Now. You called me a monster.. you  
have no idea what they are capable of."  
------"How do you know for sure?"  
------"Do we have time to discuss this?"

-

------The young woman stood in silence for a moment, before sighing and hopping onto Epona. "Get  
on. Quickly." she said, wiping away her tears.  
------"Glad to see you have atleast some sense about you." the dark one said, leaping into the air and  
landing behind the young woman gracefully as Epona started galloping towards the cult members  
who took the child.

-

------"You look just like someone I once knew..." the young ranch girl said as they rode Epona across  
Hyrule field in the bleac moonlight. "Who are you?"  
------The dark one sat there in awkward silence for a while. No one had ever asked him his name  
before, he was always just referred to as some kind of creature or... "Shadow." he finally replied.  
"Just call me Shadow. And you are?"  
------"Malon." she answered.  
------"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Shadow said. "Tell me, do you make a hobby  
out of aiding the forces of darkness?"  
------"Hey, I told you that was an honest mistake." Malon said irritably. "Besides, with Epona  
we'll catch up to them in no time. Why do you care so much about the girl, anyway?" she asked,  
turning to look at Shadow. "You don't seem like the kind of guy who'd care about anyone..."  
------"They were about to slaughter the child, no doubt for some sort of ritual." Shadow Link said.  
"Look, I'm not heartless. My heart's just very..."  
------"Misunderstood?" Malon suggested.  
------"I prefer Dark, thank you very much." he replied with a short cackle. "I saw a certain innocent  
darkness in the child's eyes, if that makes any sense to you."  
------"Innocent darkness?" the redhead asked, raising an eyebrow.  
------"Yeah. Twisted, yet still one of the good guys... It's as if she were my daughter." he said with a  
proud grin, before suddenly glaring out at the field. "There they are."

-

------Malon turned forward to see the two figures rushing through the dark field. "Alright, I'll bring  
Epona closer to them, there's no way they'll outrun a horse, and when we're in range-" she began to  
explain, before realizing Shadow had already leapt off the horse and landed on the brawny man,  
quickly wrapping him in a shadowy chain. The woman lie dead on the ground with a long, shadowy sword  
stuck through her as she fell on her back, the child somehow unharmed on the ground beside her.  
"You idiot!" Malon yelled, hopping off of Epona as the horse came to a halt, rushing over to pick up  
the young bundled up girl.  
------"My baby!" Shadow Link said, rushing towards Malon.  
------"You should have thought about your 'baby' before you let her fall like that!" Malon reprimanded,  
standing up & cradling the baby in her arms.  
------"I'm sorry, I'll never drop you again!" Shadow Link said, jerking his sword out of the dying woman's  
chest, hugging the crimson-washed ebony blade. Malon sighed, narrowing her eyes at the shadowy one.  
------"I thought you liked this kid." she said, pulling back the cloak around the baby a little bit to try to  
see her face.  
------"I do. Overwhelmingly glad she's alright!" Shadow Link said with a grin. "A man just has to  
keep his priorities in order."  
------"Right." Malon said, rolling her eyes.  
------"Speaking of which..." the dark Hylian said, walking back to the tied up, squirming man, stepping on  
the man's chest with his left foot, leaning on it slightly. The shadow glared down at the man, his crimson  
eyes seeming to glow in the darkness as he held his blade to the man's neck. "Now, be a good little sack  
of flesh and tell me where the Oracle is."  
------"Bite me!" the man yelled, before grunting in pain as Shadow Link leaned onto his left knee, effectively  
putting his full body weight on top of the man. He smirked sadistically, flashing a set of vicious looking  
fangs. "Be careful what you wish for."  
------The man stared emotionlessly at the cruel shadowy Hylian above him, whose smirk faded into a  
scowl as he began stomping the man's chest harder, the cult member growling in pain.  
------"Tell me where the cowardly creature is hiding, or I'll be forced to spill your blood in front of  
this nice young lady over here. And, as you can see," Shadow Link chuckled, lightly running the tip of  
his blade along the lips of the man to rub a taste of his comrade's blood upon them, "that is something  
of which I have no remorse for doing."

------Malon shuddered a bit as she watched the madman work, trying to comfort the crying child in  
her arms as the man coughed from the taste of the blood, glaring at the dark figure above him.  
------"Nothing you could do could ever be worse than what the Oracle would do to me should  
I tell you anything!" the man yelled, though his voice was a bit more broken now.  
------"Nothing? Honestly, I'm insulted..." the shadow said, smacking the man with the flat of his  
large ebony blade. "Would this Oracle of yours slice you and, mostly, your 'family' piece by piece  
and forcefully feed them to you raw?"  
------"You wouldn't dare--" the man started to say, before growling loudly once more as Shadow Link  
swiftly jerked his blade down, slicing off one of the man's toes and sending it flying into the air. Shadow  
caught the severed big toe, holding it by a fractured bone and dangling it in front of the man's mouth.  
------"Tell me what I need to know, or I will teach you the meaning of the word Fear..." the Shadow  
said icily. "This was merely a spur of the moment idea of tormenting your mortal mind. Given time, I'm  
sure I can invent far, far worse tortures..."

------Malon started walking towards the ranch, determined to get the baby away from this derranged  
man as he interrogated his victim. The man gulped, beginning to sweat as he gazed up in sudden horror  
at his captor. Apparently he thought Shadow Link was bluffing.  
------"She... She's in the ruins... outside of Gerudo Valley..." the man slowly responded, in too much  
pain to care if he died now or not.  
------"Gerudo Valley, hm... I should have known." Shadow Link cackled a bit. "That fool Garland must  
still be involved..."  
------"Yes... Garland will take Ganondorf's place when he fails..." the man continued. "Which... apparently  
we can agree... he will..."  
------"Yes, we are in agreeance there." the dark one said with a smirk.  
------"Oh... and that girl's taken the child away... hope you didn't intend to adopt her or something." the  
man said with a laugh.  
------"Wha...?" Shadow Link stuttered, looking around, and seeing Malon riding away with the little  
girl, much to his dismay, his victim continuing to laugh. The Shadow growled, turning to glare at the  
man before quickly slitting his throat in one swift swipe of his black blade, then took off running towards  
the Lon Lon Ranch. "Wretched horse woman..."

-

------As the shadow ran away, the spray of blood from the man's neck slowly subsiding, an unearthly  
chill befell the area where Shadow Link's last victim lie as a figure in a long, flowing black gown slowly  
descended from the skies to land beside his corpse, swishing her long, fiery red hair back behind her,  
her emerald eyes shining through the darkness. "Fool..." she said, glaring at the man's corpse. "I warned  
you what happens to those who defy me. Death is no escape." she continued scorning the man as her  
eyes began shining brightly as a small twister of wind surrounded the man's body. The corpse slowly lifted  
into the air, a faint green glow surrounding it. "Per vox of oraculum, ego recro vos in eternus patentia!" she  
said, her voice distorted as the man's corpse burst into green flames, eerie screams filling the air as his body  
was burned to the bone. The woman smirked cruelly, holding her right hand up to snap her fingers, causing  
the flames to fade away instantly, leaving a smoking skeleton to fall onto the ground.

------"Awaken." she said coldly, as green flaming eyes burst to life within the skeleton's skull. It instantly  
began crying out in agony.  
------"Oracle...! I b.. Beg you... spare me...!" it cried, writhing on the ground in pain. The woman continued  
to cruelly smirk at the creature, before turning to walk towards the forests.  
------"You were warned, fool. This is your punishment, a century of pain, perhaps more if you continue  
to misbehave." she said, before she faded away into the darkness of the night, leaving the man to suffer.

-

-

-

-

-

--------Elsewhere in Hyrule, deep within the confines of a dark ruin with black walls, lit only by the  
frequently placed green torches, a man in a long black cloak sat in solitude on a stone bench, staring  
at the ground with a deep sigh, his hood pulled back to reveal his orange hair. His eyes seemed to  
reflect a faint purple glow in the relative darkness of the room, the only sound around him being the  
crackling of a single torch behind him and the torches lighting the hallway to his left.  
------"I can't believe she'd do this to me..." he muttered with a scowl. "After everything I sacrificed  
for that witch... she throws me aside like garbage becaue of just a few little mistakes..."

------The ex-gerudo king slammed his fist into the bench, a small purple flare exploding from the impact  
and causing a quite noticable crator in the surface of it. "I should have just kept my reign as the king  
of thieves... I should have never gotten crossed up with taking over Hyrule beside an insane queen..." he  
continued, regretting many mistakes he'd made in life thus far. "She's created a monster out of me..."

------Ganondorf held his right fist up, clenching it in rage as the same arm burst into violet flames. "If  
it weren't for that stupid blonde boy, none of this would have ever happened... I'd rule the world with  
an iron fist now, with the Oracle by my side... If I had the Tri-Force now, it'd be her bowing to my  
power, begging for mercy..."  
------"Dangerous words to speak in the Oracle's home." a voice interrupted his rant, a man in a black  
hood & cloak identical to Ganondorf's walking into the small, poorly lit room, his face enshrouded in  
shadows. Ganondorf glared at the man, standing up to face him, finding himself atleast four inches  
taller.  
------"You'd be wise not to meddle in my affairs, boy." Ganondorf advised.  
------"I wouldn't dream of it, my liege. I am one of the last who believe you are the true ruler of  
Hyrule." the man said. "I merely came to relay orders from the Oracle."  
------"Why doesn't she tell me in person?" Ganondorf muttered.  
------"She's too busy, and I happened to be nearby when she required a messenger." the other cloaked  
man said. "Your son, Garland, is in the Zoran hospital."  
------"You mean he..."  
------"Yes." the man interrupted. "And you are to retrieve him for the Oracle immediately."  
------"Degraded to mere grunt work..." Ganondorf said with a sigh, standing up and beginning to walk  
out of the room and down a long, dark hallway. "When will the humiliation end...?"  
------"No time soon, apparently." the follower said. "But look at the bright side, you finally get  
to see your son again."  
------"Not something I look forward to..." Ganondorf muttered icily as he strode away.

-

-

-

-

------Malon carefully placed the young baby girl in her bed back at the Lon Lon Ranch, the only thing  
illuminating the room being a small candle. The baby was sleeping soundly at last, and Malon was  
exhausted. She took her cloak off and set it on a wooden chair nearby, the only sound in the small room  
being her father's snoring upstairs, and her footsteps on the hardwood floors. She sighed, looking  
forward to a good night's sleep, but as she was about to head to bed, she saw something move in the  
shadows in the corner of the room, reflecting from a mirror on the opposite wall near the bed.  
------"Who's there?" Malon said softly, staring into the mirror and watching the corner's reflection  
like a hawk. A pair of red eyes flashed open from the darkness, the bright glow emitting from them  
fading as a dark figure stepped out of the shadows. "... Shadow..."  
------"You have something that belongs to me." the dark Hylian said flatly. "I would very much  
like her back."  
------"Keep your voice down!" Malon whispered. "I just got her to sleep!"  
------"Which should have been my job." hissed the dark one. "I found the kid, I saved the kid, all you  
did was get in my way."  
------"If I'm not mistaken, I helped you get the kid back." Malon argued.  
------"And I would not have required your assistance had you not given them the child in the  
first place, idiot." Shadow Link said coldly, jerking out his long, shadowy blade. "Now give me my  
kid. I would so hate to kill an innocent meddler now that I'm playing the hero."  
------"Some hero you are... You're nothing but a monster." Malon said, glaring at the dark Hylian.  
"How do I know she'll be safe once I give her to you? You didn't even care about her safety when  
you hurled your sword at that other woman - you could have hit her!"  
------"Please, my aim isn't that poor." Shadow Link said, offended.  
------"Perhaps not, but she could have jerked the child in the way to try to protect herself. Did  
you ever think about that?" Malon said a little louder. "And the way she fell, if she'd landed on her  
head she could have been dead!"  
------"Yes, well, she isn't, isn't she!" hissed the shadow once more. "The important thing is, I've  
kept her safe this far, and I'm going to continue keeping her safe!"  
------"She doesn't need to grow up with the sole influence of a heartless monster." Malon said.  
"Atleast if I raise her, she'll turn out alright."  
------"I'm not a monster!"  
------"No, you just slaughtered three people in cold blood tonight, and thoroughly enjoyed the  
sounds of them dying. I saw it in your face." she said, looking disgusted with her last words. "You  
don't even have a job, you can't provide for her either..."

--------Shadow Link stood there in silence for a short while. "... so, if I get a job, you'll surrender  
the child?" he said, wondering to himself why he wasn't just slitting her throat. Was he losing the  
inhumanity he loved so much...?  
------"No, I won't do that until you learn a thing or two about kids. But a job around normal people  
would help show me you aren't a monster." Malon said. Shadow Link scowled.  
------"You don't think I, master of shadows, can get a job, do you?" he said.  
------"... I didn't say that."  
------"But you were thinking it!" Shadow Link continued with a smirk. "Oh, I'll show you. I'll go to  
Hyrule, get a job, and make enough money to buy this ranch if I have to!"  
------"I didn't say--"  
------"I'll see you when I'm filthy rich!" Shadow Link cackled, dashing out of the ranch. "You'll be  
sorry you weren't more polite then!"

------Malon sighed as the young baby started crying, awoken from Shadow Link's yelling. "He's  
impossible... If I never see him again, it'll be too soon..."

-

-

-

-

------Ruto sighed, lying down on the small bed in her own private room in the Zora Domain, her  
hands behind her head as she stared at the crystal ceiling. Link took a seat in a small red chair  
beside the bed.  
------"I can't believe it... we're going to have a kid soon." Ruto said quietly. "... I knew I felt kind of  
odd, but... I would have never imagined."  
------"Well, it was bound to happen eventually." Link said. "I still can't believe I'm going to be a  
father soon. Hopefully he won't be put through as much danger as I have."  
------"Hopefully. But then, you would've never found me if not for the dangerous life you lead." Ruto  
said with a grin. "Regardless, she'll have two very protective parents."  
------"How do you know he'll be a she?" Link said with a smirk.  
------"I just do." Ruto said, sticking her tongue out at him. "And by the time she's born, we'll have  
cleared out all of those spider things..."  
------"You mean I will have. You're not doing anything that could put you or our baby in danger." Link  
said.  
------"What! I don't even have a big belly yet, you most certainly are not going to fight a bunch of  
deadly parasites by yourself!" Ruto exclaimed.  
------"I don't want my wife and my kid getting themselves killed." Link said. "I can look after myself  
fine enough, but I want you to stay here and stay safe."

------Ruto glared at him stubbornly for a few moments, before sighing and reaching under her mattress,  
taking out a small rod much like her fiery one, but with a green orb. "Take this with you, atleast."  
------"What is it?" Link asked, taking the green rod from the Zoran princess.  
------"It's like the Fire Rod, but with lightning instead of fire." Ruto said. "So long as you're touching it  
while it's activated, it'll make an electrical field around your body to keep the parasites off. Your  
swords should be able to do the rest."  
------"Thanks." Link said with a grin, leaning in to kiss Ruto softly. "I'll be back before you know it."  
he continued, before Ruto wrapped her arms around him.  
------"Atleast stay with me until I fall asleep..." Ruto requested. "There's plenty of time to get rid of  
those ... things..."  
------"... I suppose your right." said Link, climbing into the bed beside his wife. "After you fall asleep,  
I'll go kill the parasites and be back before you know I'm gone."

-

-

------"You'd better enjoy your rest, boy." Ganondorf muttered with a scowl as he stomped through  
the river leading to Zora's domain, his long black cloak nearly making him invisible. "As much  
trouble as you're putting me through, you're not getting away without punishment..."

-

-

-

-

End Chapter


	3. Mentis Parasitos

Disclaimer:  
Between the time of the posting of Chapter Two  
of this story and the time of the writing of Disclaimer  
Three of this story, I still haven't managed to own Zelda.  
And I never will.

-

--------Author's Note:  
----Ganondorf doesn't like his son very much, does he? I've gotten back  
into game making lately, but I'll try my best not to let it interrupt my writing.  
Maybe I'll find a website to host the file when I'm done, for those who like  
Mario. Even though this is entirely the wrong category to be talking about Mario  
in. And yes, I'm very much aware that Zoras lay eggs. But then, Zoras are more  
humanlike than fishlike, so can't the process of laying such eggs be similar to the  
process of giving birth a little bit? It's not like Zelda ever explains in explicit detail  
how those eggs come to be... So, to clear up any confusion, yes. Link's child is  
going to be born. From an egg. If you have any issues with that, well... why are  
you reading such a strange romance in the first place?

-

()Symphony of Apocalypse()  
Chapter Three: Mentis Parasitos

-

-

------The moon rose high above Hyrule, though it remained unseen behind the cold, black wall of  
clouds that covered the land in darkness. Most of the populus were safely asleep in their homes,  
excluding a few guards who were taking the night shifts defending their respective kingdoms, two of  
whom were a pair of Zorans guarding the entrance to Zora's Domain. The large cavern zorans called  
home was a welcome change to the pitch blackness outside, as the walls were lined with torches bright  
enough to see anything in the main cavern.  
------"I can't believe that little punk Hylian is going to have a son..." one of the guards said coldly.  
------"Well, it was bound to happen eventually." the second, slightly taller guard said. "I can't say I'm  
exactly pleased, thanks to him, I lost my job as executioner..."  
------"Actually, that was the red cloaked man's fault. I, on the other hand, lost my job as prison guard  
because he tricked me, and now I'm stuck doing night shift." sighed the shorter guard, rubbing his neck  
a little bit. "My neck's still sore now and then because of him..."  
------"Yes, it's a pity such a criminal is allowed to marry our beloved Ruto." the ex-executioner lamented.  
"But it's too late for regrets now. We might as well make the best of the situation and work our way back  
up the job ladder."  
------"I've already had to do night shift, it bites." whined the first guard.  
------"Well, atleast we still have jobs." the taller gaurd said optimistically. "Besides, it's not like this is  
a difficult task. No one's broken into the Domain at night in years."

------As if the very words triggered it, the torches in the Doman started vanishing one by one, as if  
some invisible creature was consuming the flames one at a time. The two guards looked at eachother  
as the last of the torches went out, enveloping them in such darkness they could barely see eachother's  
outlines. "I'm... sure it was just a gust of wind or something..." the taller guard said with a nervous laugh.  
------"There was no wind..." the shorter guard said, his voice shaken a little. Suddenly, a bright purple  
light from beside them illuminated the main cavern, letting them see again. The pair of guards slowly turned  
to face a very tall man in a black cloak, purple flames flickering out of the long sleeves of it, a pair of purple  
eyes shining through the darkness of the hood as the man smirked wickedly.

------"Halt! Who goes the-" the taller guard started to say, before the cloaked man's fist slammed hard  
into his chest, sending him screaming & falling backwards into the large pool at the bottom of the main  
cavern, the ex-Executioner looking like a purple meteor before he hit the surface of the water. The shorter  
guard gasped, starting to run with a cry of "INTRUDER!", before the cloaked man grabbed his leg and  
jerked him up into the air, punching him in the face and slamming him into the nearby wall, knocking him  
out effectively as his face smoked from the flaming punch. As the purple flames faded, darkness enveloped  
the domain once again as the cloaked man began dashing up the large path, seeking the medical ward.  
------"Stop right there!" another guard exclaimed, dashing down the path after the intruder, a long spear  
tightly in hand. As he reached the cloaked man, however, the man seemed to vanish into thin air. "What the.."  
the Zoran guard muttered, skidding to a halt. "Where'd he go?"

------Suddenly, he felt fingers tighten around his neck as the cloaked man grabbed him by his throat, holding  
him up high into the air and giving him a quick jerk, his neck snapping with a sickening crack before the cloaked  
man slung him to the ground and calmly walked into a nearby tunnel. "I had always heard such good things  
about Zoran soldiers, too." the man said in disappointment as he walked through a couple of small caverns,  
before finding a room with a man in black armor and red hair lying on a hospital bed. The cloaked man  
glared at the unconscious Garland lying before him. "You're a lot more trouble than you're worth..." he  
muttered icily as he grabbed his son and slung him over his shoulder, starting to walk out of the medical ward.  
"Stay where you are!" a voice shouted angrily from the exit of the medical ward as four Zoran soldiers stood in  
shining teal armor, long, jagged partisans in hand, each one pointed at the exiled Gerudo King. A couple of them held  
bright torches in hand as all of them glared at the cloaked man, who had come to a stop in front of the group.  
"Put King Garland down, and surrender yourself." one of the guards demanded. The man in the black cloak snarled  
as his eyes flashed violet once more, piercing the shadows of his hood.  
------"Get out of my way..." Ganondorf demanded icily, though his words fell upon deaf ears as the guards stood  
their ground, ready to skewer the man if he made any wrong moves.  
------"Surrender yourself now, or we'll have to use force!" another of the guards shouted. Ganondorf chuckled  
darkly.  
------"Imbeciles... you have no idea who I am, do you!" he said as the torches the soldiers were carrying  
suddenly went out, the fire seeming to be pulled into Ganondorf before they vanished into thin air.

-

-

------"Ow... am I.. alive...?" muttered the guard Ganondorf had held up and punched in the face as he slowly  
regained consciousness, staring up the dark path he was lying upon. His left eye, as well as everything around  
it, felt as if it were on fire, yet his left eye felt surprisingly cold. As he tried to adjust his vision to the surrounding  
darkness, suddenly multiple streams of violet flames errupted from the medical ward, blasting many Zoran guards  
off their feet and into the large pool in the middle of the Domain. "What the.." he muttered weakly as he watched  
the streams of fire fade away, hearing heavy footsteps and the flapping of a long black cloak as Ganondorf ran  
by him and out of the domain. The guard groaned, too much in pain to try and stop the gerudo man. "First I helped  
a criminal Hylian escape, now I let a psychopath break in and kidnap our allied nation's king..." he sighed. "I'm  
going to lose my job for this..."

-

-

-

-

------Elsewhere, in the heart of ancient ruins in Gerudo Valley, within a wide black room with tall stone  
pillars and many green torches, a woman with long, flaming red hair and an even longer black gown flowing  
behind her paced back and forth impatiently in front of her throne. Her minions, countless men and women  
in black cloaks to either side of the long red carpet piercing the center of the room, all stood in silence, for fear  
of further invoking their mistress' rage.  
------"Does each of you understand what a grave mistake it is to think you can escape me should you do  
ANYTHING to jeapordise my plans!" the woman yelled at her minions. "You already know the fate of  
Fredrick. Even in death, you cannot escape me." she said icily. The cloaked ones all said "Yes, mistress,"  
at the same time before their leader continued.  
------"I can only hope you were able to collect mature eggsacs of the parasite to hide in Kokiri and spread  
their infestation?" the woman asked. One of the cloaked figures stepped out from the rest and stood before  
the woman, kneeling before her.  
------"My mistress, forgive us... but there was an accident in the caves." the man said. The woman ended her  
pacing in front of the cloaked one, smirking down at him, her eyes beginning to glow a faint green.  
------"What sort of accident?" she asked, her voice seeming almost cheerful in comparison to the tone it had  
took five mintues ago.  
------"It.. It was not our fault, Oracle.. there was a cave-in, the entrance is blocked, one of our own is  
still trapped within the cavern...  
------"Oh, how dreadful." she said with a chuckle. "I hope he knows how to fend off the parasites, lest they  
consume him entirely... Did you bring the stones back?"  
------"No... he .. he was holding them all... as you instructed..." the cloaked man said nervously.  
------"So you're saying it's my fault they're lost?" the woman said, taking a seat in her black, twisted throne,  
several huge spikes sticking out of the sides of it. She continued to smirk, amused by how terrified the man  
before her was as he began trembling.  
------"N-No, of coarse not... I.. I was merely... You could easily retrieve them.. y-yourself, my mistress..."  
------"Yes, but then what would the fun in having minions if I didn't use them?" she said, brushing some of her  
long red hair out of her face. "Fear not, however. Your mistress is not without mercy. When my prophecy  
is fullfilled and everything falls into place, you will all be rewarded greatly for your loyalty. For now, where  
is the worthless Gerudo and his brat of a son?"  
------"They will arrive any moment." the man kneeling before her replied, slowly backing away to rejoin the  
rest of his fellow cult members.  
------"Good. After all the trouble my minions have been causing me lately, it's about time something went  
right." the Oracle said with a sigh. "The few of you who were taken into custody could have ruined  
everything. You are a fine example of what to do when in that sort of situation. Remain loyal to me, and  
you will not be forgotten."  
------"Yes, mistress." the multitude of cloaked figures said in a monotonous tone. They all turned as a large  
pair of black doors opened on the opposite side of the room from the Oracle's throne, a tall man in a black  
cloak carrying Garland over his shoulder walking into the room.

------"Ganondorf, I was beginning to think you wouldn't be making it." the woman said, standing up once  
again. "Bring the fool to me."

-

------Ganondorf nodded from under his hood, tossing his son roughly onto the floor at the Oracle's feet.  
The redhead glared at the armored king before her, waving her hand towards him as a thin, frosty mist  
seemed to shoot out of her sleeve, passing over Garland's face. "You may rejoin the others, Ganondorf."

-

------Ganondorf bowed, a faint growl seeming to come from him as he took his place among the rest  
of the minions. Garland's eyes shot open as the mist in front of his face vanished, and slowly tried to  
stand up. "Wh.. what's going on...?" he muttered groggily as he slowly rose from the ground in front  
of the Oracle. As he got up however, he felt someone's knee slam between his legs, flames errupting  
behind him for a split second as a black stone chair arose from the ground, some mysterious force  
slamming him backwards into the cold hard rock seat. The Oracle snapped her fingers as the Gerudo  
King landed, long, black chains snaking out from the ground to wrap around him and bind him to  
the stone chair.

------Garland smirked at the Oracle as she walked towards him. "You may have captured me..." he  
said in a strained voice, still very, very much in pain from the woman's assault, "but it's too late... The  
Hylian boy is on his way to stop you as we speak..."  
------The Oracle returned to smirk as she draped her legs over Garland's lap, taking a seat on him.  
"Yes, a pity for him he'll be dead before the night is through." the woman said with a dry laugh.  
------"He's very resourceful, he'll know how to stop them. Trust me, you can't underestimate  
that boy." Garland said. "Both myself and my father have made that mistake in the past."  
------"Oh, my spies have already realized this. The parasite won't be able to touch him." the Oracle  
said carelessly. Garland blinked, tilting his head a bit.  
------"... and... this doesn't anger you... why? It ruins your plans."  
------"Oh, you poor, simple minded child." the woman said, patting Garland on the head softly a  
couple of times. "Taking over a world requires years of patience, otherwise I wouldn't have the  
patience to deal with the incompetence of you, your father, or a few of my misguided minions." she  
said. "A plot so simple as spreading a deadly parasite has far too many flaws. All my future subjects  
would be dead, for example. I want the world at my feet, not in ruin."  
------"Well, I'm sure you didn't create them for no reason." Garland said. "And whatever that  
reason was must have been crucial. Regardless of what you say-"  
------"You do so wish to be the noble hero, don't you?" the Oracle said, narrowing her eyes  
a little bit. "How dull. Honestly, I thought being the bad guy was the latest fad with young  
people, not being the galiant knight rushing to the rescue..."  
------"I have a lot to make up for." Garland muttered, before being slapped across his face.  
------"Ungrateful brat." the Oracle said. "I gave you immense power, and you repay me by attempting  
to rebel and thwart my schemes..."  
------"Your power is nothing but death." Garland said with a scowl. "I made the mistake of being  
seduced by the powers of darkness, but it won't happen again. It isn't worth it."  
------"Fool, you cannot change your fate. You are mine." the Oracle said with a smirk. "The mark on your  
wrist is proof of that. I'm afraid, despite your noble intentions, you are still nothing but my little Gerudo  
puppet, and have done nothing but help your mistress."  
------"What are you talking about? I told Link exactly where to find your little hive! He's probably halfway  
there right now!" Garland exclaimed. "Have you lost your sanity?"  
------"Why do you think I created the parasite in the first place? For the sole purpose of destroying  
Link. As you said, I cannot underestimate him." the Oracle said. "And I have a little surprise planned for  
him within the hive of my little pets. In predictably defying me, you've only ensured my victory."

------"You're bluffing." Garland said, before yelling out in agony as his body was covered in green  
electricity once more, the Oracle sitting in his lap unharmed the entire time.  
------"This is what happens if you so much as think of defying me." she said loudly, her voice piercing  
the anguished cries of Garland. "Jack disobeyed me by explaining to Hylian officials what the mark on  
his wrist was. He's now trapped with the parasite. Garland disobeyed me to try to save Hyrule, and in  
doing so has sent its own hero to doom it. I'm far too busy now to deal with every fool who defies me.  
As such, from this point on, any further misconduct will be met with the penalty of death."

------She turned to stare at Ganondorf, her own cruel, shimmering, amused eyes locked with his cold,  
emotionless ones. "So should any of you be getting any bright ideas of betraying me, you had best be  
more concerned about your own well being."

-

-

-

------Link shivered slightly in his blue tunic as he walked through Hyrule Field, tightly clutching a map  
in one hand, little puffs of fog coming from his mouth now and then. Still strapped to his back in an  
X shape were the large silver sword forged by Biggoron, and the slightly larger, more sinister looking  
blade taken from Ganondorf years ago. The Kokiri blade was strapped to his side as a backup weapon,  
and many other things such as a quiver of arrows, bow, boomerang, bombs, and a hookshot, were  
attached in various locations. Where he kept all of these things... no one knows, though at the moment,  
none of them were doing him any good. "According to this map, the hive should be around here  
somewhere..." Link said to himself, becoming annoyed as he looked around, continuing to slowly walk  
forwards, before suddenly half of his right leg seemed to fall into the ground.  
------"What the heck!" Link shouted as he tried to pull his leg free, only to have it sink all the way in, along  
with half of his other leg. "Crap, I think I FOUND IIIIT!" he yelled as the ground beneath him caved in,  
plunging him down a seemingly bottomless shaft. The Hylian stared up in horror as he fell, the small bit of  
light from outside being quickly consumed by darkness as the shaft slowly bent into a slide, finally tossing him  
into a wide open cavern of some sort. He cried out in slight panic, his heart racing as he plunged about twenty  
more feet in complete darkness, before finally landing and rolling to his feet. Link struggled to quickly catch his  
breath as he stared around the darkness. A faint wind howled from the hole he entered through, but aside from that  
the only sounds he heard were the eerie, fading echoes of his yelling, along with a slimy, crawling sound coming from  
all over the place, and suddenly he felt as if large spiders were beginning to crawl up his legs...

------"Oh crap, where'd I put the rod!" Link exclaimed to himself, frantically searching his tunic as he felt the spider-like  
parasites quickly crawling to his waist. "Aha!" he shouted as his fingers brushed over the handle of the rod, grabbing ahold  
of it swiftly as he felt the parasites continuing at an alarming rate, crawling over his chest now. He jerked the rod out  
of his tunic, holding it out as a blinding green light flashed from it. Link's entire body began to glow as the light faded,  
small streaks of electricity surging through various parts of his body now and then, though it didn't seem to be  
affecting him in the slightest. As the lightning rod illuminated the cave softly after the flash, Link looked down at his  
body to see that, from his neck down, his entire body was covered in parasites that were going into spasms as the  
electric field around him took its course. The parasites dropped like flies as they died off, the other swarming parasites  
in the large cavern taking the corpses for sustenance. Link looked around at the now illuminated cavern; the floor and  
walls of the cave were nearly covered in parasites, though they kept a wide ring of distance around Link, smart enough to  
realize he was a serious threat to them all. Link blinked as he stood there, stunned at how close he had come to being  
doomed, before letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Well, atleast I found the hive... now where's the queen?" he said,  
looking around at the many tunnels connecting to this large, dark cavern. "... this could take a while..."

-

------He started walking down one of the many winding tunnels inside the hive, looking around at all the parasites  
nervously. Despite knowing the rod he held in his hand gave him protection against the little monsters, he couldn't  
help but be unnerved by the presence of thousands of little spiderlike parasites, all of which seemed to be going the  
same direction he was at the moment, detouring around him when they drew near. "... this isn't so bad..." he thought  
to himself as he continued to trek down the long tunnel. "Maybe they're gathering to protect their queen... I'm already  
going the right way!"

------As the end of the tunnel drew near however, the light from his staff poured into a small, open cavern, revealing  
a pile of parasites swarming around what appeared to be a humanoid body. "... is that the queen?" Link pondered out  
loud, his voice echoing through the dimly lit cavern, staring at whatever was on the ground as it slowly moved  
towards him, as if slithering like a snake. He continued to stare at the dead man as he was dragged away by a sea  
of small spiderlike creatures, the parasites starting to pull him along faster now. "... ok, maybe if I follow these guys."  
Link said, starting to follow the trail of the corpse back through the tunnel he'd just came through. After a while, the  
corpse had been dragged back to the cavern he'd fallen in to start with, before being pulled down another, larger  
tunnel. Link looked back at the tunnel he'd just entered before following the parasite trail into the much bigger  
one. "Why didn't I think to go down the big one first?" he muttered to himself, clutching the rod tighter in his left  
hand as the parasites seemed to be getting a little more daring when it came to getting close to him.

-

------After following the trail for a few more minutes, he finally exited the long tunnel into a gigantic cavern, so wide  
the light from his rod still couldn't illuminate the entire room. It did plenty to show a hideous, massive spiderlike creature  
in the middle of the cavern, however; the creature looked much like the other parasites, but with a gigantic, bulging  
sac of some kind beneath its large, tentacle like tail. "Finally.." Link said as he stopped at the entrance to the  
cavern, pulling out Biggoron's sword, electricity coursing through it thanks to the rod in his other hand. The parasite  
queen opened her massive jaws, devouring the dead man and some of her own children in one big gulp, swallowing  
them whole to be digested within her. Link cringed a bit as the creature hissed. "Atleast I have a sword to cut my  
way out if that happens..."

-

-

------Link took stance and got ready to rush at the queen, but before he could, the queen suddenly started roaring  
in agony as she fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Her entire body began to smoke as the stench of burning flesh  
filled the cavernous room, before she exploded in one mighty pop, spewing blood and other things the likes of which  
Link was probably fortunate not to know of. "... Wow, that was easy!" Link said with a grin, looking at the lightning  
rod. "This thing works better than I thought!"

------As he got ready to leave, however, he noticed something moving from within the boney corpse of the queen.  
Arising from what appeared to be the queen's rib cage, the so-called dead man staggared to his feet, his head  
bowed as slime dripped from his form. Link quickly rushed over to the corpse of the queen as he realized it was  
the person he'd assumed dead earlier. "Are you alright?"  
------The man coughed up a bit of the slime, before standing up straight, his eyes shining open, both appearing to  
be made of glass, one glowing blue and the other green as a red glow seemed to pulsate from his chest. "Who...  
Who am I...?"  
------"How should I know?" Link asked, raising an eyebrow as he took a step back warily, not trusting anything  
that seemed magical after his previous dealings with the Oracle's minions. "Do you know how to get out of here?'  
------"A voice... I... I hear her voice..." the man said in a distorted tone, the parasites seeming to flee in terror  
of this man for some reason as the cavern was quickly evacuated of the spiderlike creatures.  
------"Who's voice? Can you remember?"  
------"Get out of my head... GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" the man started screaming as he dropped to his knees,  
clutching his head as he fell face-first into the cold rocky ground. "Not a monster.. I'm.. I'm a person...!" he yelled  
weakly, before crying out as if in pain, four long, skeletal, spiderlike legs ripping out of his back to lift up his flailing  
body. An even longer skeletal tail covered in boney spikes shot out behind him, waving around slowly. "No..! You  
won't have me again...!" he screamed, staggaring backwards on his newly grown spiderlegs a bit, his teeth starting to  
extend into fangs as long claws shot out of each of his fingers and toes. Suddenly, he arched his back with one last  
agonized scream, three long, jagged points ripping out of his glowing chest, coming together into the beginning of a  
handle as it stuck out of his chest a little more, before the man fell completely limp, bowing his head once more,  
gasping for air.  
------"Are ... you okay?" Link asked, keeping his sword ready to strike whenever needed. The man's breathing  
started to sound deeper, gruffer, almost monsterous. He suddenly jerked his head up to glare at Link, sadistically  
smirking at the blue-clad Hylian with jagged fangs, his eyes shing as brightly as ever.  
------"Our apologies for delaying your time in this realm." the man said, his voice distorted and vicious now. "She  
tells us to destroy you... We must obey..."  
------"Who tells you?" Link asked, starting to walk backwards towards the tunnel he'd just came from. The  
monster reached to his chest and jerked the blueish forked spear out of his chest, twirling it around before pointing  
it straight at Link, slowly walking with his long skeletal spider legs to keep up with the Hylian.  
------"The all-seeing Oracle commands us... You will become our nourishment..." the man said dementedly, suddenly  
jabbing at Link with his spear. Link blocked it with his large blade, having to quickly bring his blade up again and again  
to block the countless attempts to stab him. He stabbed one last time, pressing his spear against Link's sword, the two  
weapons locked together as they glared at one another.

------"Wretched Hylian, you only prolong your misery!" the man yelled, starting to lash out at Link with his long,  
skeletal, jagged spiderlike legs. Link quickly brought his lightning rod around to block each slash of the legs, struggling  
to keep the spear from stabbing him with Biggoron's blade. Suddenly, the assault ended, little bits of slime dripping from  
the man's spiderlegs next to Link, his eyes no longer glowing, but merely vacant green and blue spheres of glass.  
"Wh... what am I doing...?" he muttered to himself, as Link slowly started to back away.  
------"We're killing the Hylian!" he screamed in a distorted voice, his eyes flashing to life momentarily before fading  
away to their dull, crystal clear selves afterwards as his voice went back to normal.  
------"No... I'm not going to be a slave of the Oracle any longer.." the man said weakly.  
------"Yes, we are! We belong to her will!" he yelled in his distorted voice again. Link blinked, continuing to  
slowly walk backwards and away from this creature as it argued with itself, its left wrist giving off a faint light  
as half of the usual Oracle mark shone through the slime, slowly fading away.  
------"No... it's.. my mind... my body..." the man said as Link took off running.

------"The queen's dead, my job's done, I'm getting out of here!" Link said to himself, putting Biggoron's sword  
away as he started hunting for the way out.

-

------The man stared at the mark on his arm as it started to burn. He reached over with his markless, yet slime  
covered hand, rubbing at the mark as if trying to ease the burning. "Go ahead, Oracle... kill me... I'd rather  
die than be a puppet any longer..."  
------"You fool, we have immortality with the aid of the Oracle!" his distorted voice added in, though it was  
getting weaker. "You would give this up for pathetic emotions? Humanity? Compassion? It's all nothing  
compared to our power!" His eyes began to fade as his voice weakened more.  
------"Power isn't worth everything... I'm a monster now..." he said softly, as he quit rubbing his wrist, the  
burning sensation fading away.  
------"But we were unstoppable... now you'll suffer greater than you ever have before..." the distorted voice  
muttered in its dying breath as it faded away, along with the glowing of his eyes and chest. The man slowly  
sat down, wrapping his long spiderlike legs around himself like a cage, his tail waving slowly back and forth  
as he was surrounded by complete darkness. The man sighed as he dropped his pitchfork-like spear, before he  
heard footsteps coming back down the tunnel leading to his cavern. "Hylian, I've caused you enough torment.  
Why do you return? I seek no aid."  
------"You assume too much." a deep, sinister voice responded, as he heard a mild scraping noise, the newcomer  
picking up his spear.  
------"Ganondorf? What are you doing here?"  
------"I came to get my sword back, but seeing as you weren't able to follow orders as simple as Kill the Hylian,  
this will make an excellent consolation prize." Ganondorf answered.  
------"I don't care, you can have the wretched thi-" the man started to say, before he felt the trident pierce his  
skin just barely at his stomach. "Argh...!" he yelled as he felt three spheres being siphoned out of his body and  
into the spear. He could hear flames errupting as the orbs left him, though he couldn't see anything, and soon  
the flames faded away as Ganondorf chuckled darkly.  
------"This will make a fine replacement for my old sword..." he said as he pulled the spear out of the spiderlike  
man's belly. "Honestly, after being trapped in this cavern for disobeying the Oracle, I thought you'd have learned  
your lesson, Jack. Now Link's just going to have to starve to death, I suppose... a fitting torture for him for all  
the little brat has done."  
------"Ganondorf, think for a minute. The Oracle could swat Link like a bothersome fly if she used her full  
powers. Why hasn't she?" Jack asked. Ganondorf scowled, his purple eyes glowing faintly through the darkness,  
though Jack still couldn't see anything.  
------"She has her reasons. Like she said, there'd be no point in having minions if she didn't use them-"  
------"But her minions cause her more trouble than they're worth. I'm proof of that." Jack said. "It would be easier  
if she just did it all herself. Why won't she?"  
------"That's none of your concern!" Ganondorf snarled.  
------"You don't know yourself, do you?" the man said, sounding almost humored. "She doesn't even keep YOU  
in the loop.. a pity. The knowledge of the scars on our wrists, even though most of her minions don't even know  
it, is trivial information. She's a manipulator, Ganondorf. She has ulterior motives to everything she does."  
------"So, you're saying she punished you, turned you into this hideous beast, just to get me a new weapon?  
Should I feel flattered?" Ganondorf asked.  
------"You should follow your instincts as I have, Ganondorf." Jack advised. "Don't you think it's odd how she  
tries desperately to bully her minions for respect? It's as if she has little to no power over you all..."  
------"Because fools like you are compromising her schemes." Ganondorf said with a scowl.  
------"I am no longer a puppet of the Oracle, Ganondorf. You would be wise to follow my example, before it  
is too late for you all. She is a dangerous woman if left alone long enough."  
------"... lies from a pathetic, lonely fool. Nothing but lies." Ganondorf said, refusing to believe a word of it  
as he started to walk off.  
------"You're all being used, Ganondorf. She'll throw you all away eventually, as she did me." Jack warned as  
Ganondorf burst into flames and vanished from the cave.

-

-

-

-

End Chapter

(A/N: Expect some serious time lapsing next chapter.)


	4. Birth of the Future

Disclaimer:  
Guess what, genius? That's right. I STILL don't  
own Zelda. I wouldn't mind owning an enchanted  
Zora mask, however. Zoras rock!

-

---------Author's Note:  
----I'm just going to keep this short. I know one Gerudo male is born every century,  
making Garland's presence an anamoly. I truly don't care; call it a genetic fluke,  
or perhaps the whole 'one male every century' is bull crap. Honestly, if they have  
the average lifespan of a human, they'd have to be one hundred years old upon  
conception of the next son, making it virtually impossible to survive as a race,  
because the male would have died at some point before conception of a new male.  
No one's immortal, natural means or otherwise.  
----I forget what else I was going to say now, except Document Manager bites.  
I STILL can't get anything to upload right without using this format, and I'm on 56k,  
so I can't download a 90+Mb piece of crap just to make Document Manager happy.  
Though I doubt it'd be any different even then. Apologies for long overdue updates  
as always, it's taken me FOREVER to work out the plotholes in where I want this  
story to go. That, and I've had countless distractions. Just keep at heart that if you  
like the action scenes, you'll be getting a lot of them in future chapters, and there's going  
to be quite a lot of sub romances, some more unexpected than others...  
I must say, the song Mad World by Tears for Fears inspired several future scenes.  
Final warning: No time lapse this chapter, even more confusion, and over the next few  
chapters, things may get a little dark, and this chapter will be a little gross.  
If you know anything about the miracle of life, you'll know why already, though I'm  
not going to get overly graphic.  
On to the show.

-

-

()Symphony of Apocalypse()  
Chapter Four: Birth of the Future

-

------The clouds parted slightly to reveal beams of moonlight raining down over Hyrule, most of the  
country sleeping peacefully despite the chaos happening around them. One particular Hylian, however, was  
currently wide awake, slinking through the halls of Hyrule Castle, his body clothed in a tunic as dark as the  
shadows around him. His crimson eyes shone brightly through the darkness, a slight chill filling the castle. As he  
rounded the corner, however, he suddenly ran into one of the Hylian guards...  
------"Halt! Who goes there!?" the guard shouted, pointing his blade at the dark one's throat.  
------"Hey hey hey, watch where you're pointing that thing, you could poke someone's eye out!" Shadow Link  
said, pushing the blade away from his neck. "Honestly, I expected the Captain of the guards to be a little more  
observant..."  
------"Oh, it's just you Shadow." the Captain said with relief as he sheathed his sword. "You should be more  
careful... you don't exactly look like a royal guard, you know."  
------"How about I just follow you around then so you won't be surprised any further?" Shadow suggested.  
------"Yeah, alright. These night patrols get lonely from time to time." the guard said as the two started patrolling  
the same path together.  
------"Yes, well, don't get any ideas." Shadow Link said coldly. "I know I'm not the most trusted figure in Hyrule,  
but why were my employers so hesitant in hiring a new guard today? You were missing quite a few.."  
------"The Princess is finally returning from her seclusion now that Ganondorf has been eliminated." the captain said.  
"Haven't you heard?"  
------"Princess Zelda?!" Shadow Link exclaimed. "Man, oh man, is she going to be mad at Link." he added with  
a bit of a cackle.  
------"Yes, she has already been informed of Ruto's marriage." the captain said. "... and she didn't take it well at all,  
I could tell, but you know her, she's not going to let anyone know she's upset."  
------"I can imagine. Honestly, my brother is an imbecile." Shadow Link said with a snicker.  
------"Well, we'd rather have your 'brother' here, honestly. And with the Princess coming, we can't trust anyone,  
not even you." They walked in silence for a few moments, passing by the exit to the courtyard, a chilling breeze  
gusting past them.

------"I wonder where this cold front came from?" the Captain said with a shiver.  
------"It's not natural, I can assure you of that." Shadow said. "There's something evil being spawned somewhere...  
the creature controlling the cloaked ones must be responsible. Honestly, bringing a princess back during these  
chaotic times..."  
------"I've been meaning to talk to you about that." said the captain. "You see, we've heard rumors - Only rumors,  
of coarse, no fact whatsoever - that Ganondorf lives on. Regardless of whether this is true or not, there are plenty of  
his followers still free to roam Hyrule, and someone's doubtlessly going to try to take Zelda. We need an ace up our  
sleeve, someone who's had experience fighting the dark lord."  
------"And I thought you couldn't trust me." Shadow Link said with a smirk.  
------"I can't. That's why you'll be surrounded by fellow guards in her protectorate." the captain said. "If you can pull  
this off, you'll have earned our trust. But if you do anything stupid, I can guarentee you won't leave Hyrule alive."

------Shadow Link cackled madly for a moment at these words. "My good man, if I wanted to, I could make the entire  
Hylian race extinct."  
------"Is that a threat!?"  
------"No, it's reality." Shadow Link said with a smirk. "But I'm a nice guy. And I'd have to deal with my brother if I  
did anything foolish. Not a headache I wish to handle right now."

------The two walked in silence for a few more moments, stopping to look out onto the great field once again.  
"What has your brother been up to lately, anyway?" the Captain asked.  
------"Enjoying the good life." Shadow Link said in a tone of disgust. "We're sitting here freezing our butts off, and he's  
probably lazing around in the Zoran Domain, being waited on hand and foot..."

-

-

-

------"OW!" Link yelled as he stumped his toe on yet another rock he hadn't noticed, hopping on one foot for a few  
steps until the pain subsided a bit. His tunic was quite filthy, and he had little cuts and bruises all over his body, continuing  
to hold the lightning rod up as a source of light. There were countless dead parasites everywhere, but he couldn't see any  
of them moving as he walked through one of the countless identical caverns. "Atleast the queen dying seems to have killed  
off these things..." Link said, kicking one of the slimy little parasites out of his path as he walked. "Man... there's got to be  
an exit around here somewhere..."  
------"There isn't one." said a familiar, almost eerie voice. Link held the rod up to illuminate further down the passage he  
was walking through, revealing the back of the man with long spiderlike legs sticking out of his back as well as a long, boney tail.  
Link stopped dead in his tracks, taking a step backwards as he remembered this creature.  
------"... your heart races, and you've halted. Surely the hero of Hyrule isn't afraid of me." the spiderlike man said.  
------"What would you expect? You tried to kill me." Link replied.  
------"The Oracle tried to kill you through my wretched body." the man explained. He turned around to look at Link, his  
eyes looking dark and quite strange from this distance in this poor lighting. "I am free of her grasp now. And I believe you  
could help us both, if I took you to the exit."  
------"But.. you just said there was no exit." Link said, starting to walk towards the exiled minion.  
------"And so there is not." the man said, chuckling as Link drew closer, the Hylian able to clearly see now that instead of  
eyes, the strange man had two empty sockets as black as the shadows around them where his eyes once were. "A cave-in  
has trapped us both in here. And while I am weakened, I smell gunpowder on you... I assume you have bombs?"  
------"Lots of'em, actually." Link said with a nervous grin, not sure whether or not he should trust this disturbing  
monstrosity.  
------"You see, I could lead you to the exit, and you could clear the way. Even though I have no will to live among those  
who will probably scorn my outward appearance, there are important matters I must attend to. Without me, all who  
follow the Oracle are lost."  
------"But I stopped her evil plan, what could she do now?" Link said. "And who are you, anyway?"  
------"Follow me. I'll explain along the way." the man said, wrapping his long, spiderlike legs around himself as he started  
walking down the passageway. Link stood still for a moment, before shrugging and following the strange man, figuring he  
could draw his swords quick enough if need be...

------"My name is Jack, and I foolishly became a follower of the Oracle because she said she would change the world  
with the best interest of everyone in it. I found out later it was nothing more than a mindless cult worshipping a woman  
who sought to enslave the world with the power of the Tri-Force..."  
------"But... she can't get ahold of it. It's been divided." Link said. "And what does that have to do with the parasites?"  
------"It's very confusing, I'm afraid. It always is." Jack sighed. "As one of the very few minions who have seen the light, it  
vexes me beyond reasoning the way she manipulates everyone without their knowing, always manages to stay two steps  
ahead of everyone... No matter how hard you try to stop her, you realise all you've done is played your part in her twisted  
scheme. She's a very dangerous woman, she's willing and able to perfectly plan every detail of what will happen in the  
coarse of several years, and patient enough to wait for her plans to fall together."

------The two of them turned to begin going another path while they continued talking about the sinister villainess.  
"But I thought I just foiled her evil plan." Link said, a bit confused.  
------"You see, that is what makes her so dangerous. No one can predict what exactly her plans are, except for her  
ultimate goal of power through the Tri-Force. I still have no clue how she could possibly attain that, but I would like to  
know I have your assistance when the time comes."  
------"I'll do what I can, but I'd like to know what the heck is going on here. Why were these parasites even here?"  
------"At first glance, they looked like an easy way to manipulate those without her Mark, but anyone who knew her  
would know she wouldn't be that blatantly obvious. Then, we had all thought she started this colony of the parasite  
for the sole purpose of killing you. A simple goal, but overkill enough to be believable of her. Of coarse, after I came  
here with the full intention of killing the queen, I came to understand their true purpose."  
------"So they weren't meant to kill me?" Link asked.  
------"Oh, no. You see, this is what gives me faith that the Oracle can be stopped, that she truly is mortal. The parasite's  
blood has a special healing property, it can remove scars from the flesh and cure most wounds, even undo the curse that  
is the Mark of the Oracle." the man said, holding his right wrist up to show a red area where the deep scar had once been  
seared into his flesh. "The parasite wasn't planned to kill you. In fact, you were meant to kill the queen and give an easy  
source of the antidote. It was my purpose to destroy you all along, then I would be left to starve to death as punishment  
for my rebellion. Needless to say, the Oracle has failed in both, and every parasite that was bound to the queen of this  
hive will stay in there and die."  
------"Well... why does she need the mark removed, if she put it there in the first place?" Link asked, confused, as they  
reached a dead end at last.  
------"Because upon the ritual, all who bear the cursed mark will be granted all the powers of the Tri-Force, not just her."  
Jack explained. "By then, she no longer needs to have control of their bodies through the curse, because they'll all be  
foolishly loyal to her, and she'll have the power to defend herself. Now, draw your bombs, hero, this is where you shall  
escape from." he finished.  
------"Alright... when will the Oracle attempt to do this ritual? You were hers earlier, so you should know." Link said,  
pulling out a large, round, black bomb and lighting the fuse, setting it at the wall of rocks before getting a safe distance  
away from it, Jack following him.  
------"No one is sure when she will decide the time is right. That is why I must move quickly to turn her minions against  
her in secrecy." Jack continued, being interrupted as the bomb exploded, taking out the wall of rocks, moonlight pouring  
through the newly reopened exit after the dust cleared. "This is all you need to know. I am the messenger in this war, and  
I will come to you and everyone else whom I require the aid of when the time is right."  
------"How will the Oracle not suspect you of betraying her if she's so all-seeing?" Link asked as they walked out  
of the cavern at last, both of them taking in a deep breath of fresh night air.  
------"We have no guarentees. All we can do is hope, now that we know she truly has no power. There isn't much she  
will be able to do once we awaken enough of her followers to our cause." the eyeless one said. "I've heard interesting news  
about you as well. Do you realize that upon the conception of a Zoran egg, it will be laid much sooner than a mammal's  
pregnancy would last?"  
------"Um... how soon?" Link asked.  
------"There is no exact time, but usually they'll feel quite sick, sometimes so soon as a day before they release the egg."  
Jack said. Link's eyes widened a bit. "Well, don't just stand there and stare, hero! It won't hatch immediately, but  
husband of a Zoran should be there upon the creation of the egg."

------Link nodded quickly, turning to run across the great fields of Hyrule towards the Zora's River. Jack laughed a  
bit as he heard Link vanish in the distance, before he began quickly striding towards Gerudo Valley in the opposite  
direction on his long, spiderlike legs.

-

-

-

------Around that time, back in the underground, ebony ruins the Oracle called home, a fallen king lie in his cold, dark  
prison cell, awaiting death. The son of Ganondorf lie on the hard, chily floor, his black armor feeling as if it weighed  
ten times more than it normally did, as his muscles were severely weakened from torture. His lip busted, his pride  
shattered, and only having until dawn to live, all he could do was wallow in his despair for falling right into the Oracle's  
twisted schemes, as everyone else seemed to be doing. He sighed, fruitlessly struggling to break the chains that bound  
his form. "I was so close... So close to stopping her once and for all..." he muttered, quite aggitated not only because  
he had failed in redeeming himself, but also due to his hands being bound behind his back in somewhat of a cuccoon of chains.  
"It can't end like this... I made mistakes in the past, but surely the Trinity has seen my efforts to make up for my sins..." he said  
to himself. "After all I've sacrificed to ensure peace in Hyrule, must I now die in obscurity...?"  
------"You won't be dying anytime soon, your highness." he heard an eerie voice whispering to him. Garland looked up,  
slightly startled as he stared into the eyeless face of the spiderlike man standing in the corner of his jail cell, nearly invisible  
due to the uniform dark claok he stole on the way to the cell.  
------"How'd you manage to get in here?" Garland asked. "And what happened to you?"  
------"I have my ways." the exiled minion said. "And this is the price I paid for seeing the truth. You, however, still have  
your entire life ahead of you. You shouldn't have to be caught up in this war with the Oracle."  
------"None of us should, but considering each of us were foolish enough to believe her lies, it's our duty to rectify our  
mistakes and destroy her, no matter what it takes." Garland said.  
------"And you have helped us greatly, Garland. Through your wisdom, we have opened the eyes of every minion,  
whether they chose to defy the Oracle or to live in fear. But you have duties as the King of the Gerudo that must be  
fulfilled. I will handle the rebellion from here." said Jack.  
------"What good am I to the Gerudo if I don't stay and fight?"  
------"What good are you to them dead?! You're being executed in hours, Garland, or have you forgotten?" Jack responded sharply,  
leaving Garland in silence for a few moments. The blind one slid one of his long spiderlike appendages underneath the chains, straining  
a bit from the effort as he cut through them. Garland weakly sat up as the chains fell. "Hold still. This may hurt a bit." Jack said,  
reaching into his cloak to pull out a beaker of thick, yellow liquid, popping the cork off of it.  
------"What is it..?" Garland asked as Jack took his scarred wrist, pouring the contents of the beaker onto the marking. The Gerudo  
king grunted in pain for a few moments, his wrist hissing as it let out a small cloud of steam, the strange yellow liquid slowly evaporating,  
taking the scar with it.  
------"Take a few guards with you and go into hiding once you escape." Jack advised. "You'll get the chance to fight if you wish, but you  
need to find a safe place to heal your wounds first."

------Garland shook his head as he looked down at his wrist, the last of the liquid burned away, leaving his skin free of the scarred marking  
he once bore. "I can't-"  
------"There is no time to argue, Garland." Jack interrupted. "You're a smart man. Don't let your pride get in the way of that.  
Leave this place now, find a safe place, and I'll come when the time is right."

-

------They sat there in silence for a few moments longer, before Garland sighed and nodded. "Fine... Be careful, Jack. I could  
use an advisor like you once this mess is all over."  
------"I would be honored, sire." Jack replied, reaching his hand out to point towards the darkest shadows in the corner of  
the ebony jail cell. "If you crawl there, you'll find an easy exit. Remember, get out of here fast, and don't look back."

------With those last words, Jack slid over to the cell door, one of his four long spiderlike appendages moving to work on  
picking the lock as Garland vanished into the dark corner to make his escape. "Tonight I'll figure out exactly what you're planning,  
Oracle..." he muttered to himself as the cell door popped open, Jack retreating his appendage and swiftly darting out of the  
jail cell as silently as possible, crawling up the wall and along the cieling to avoid detection from the guards.

-

-

-

------Link dashed up the canyon leading to Zora's Domain as fast as he could, ignoring the pain he felt as the cold night  
air pierced his lungs like a thousand needles with each breath. The sky was completely black, except for one small patch of  
light where the clouds parted beneath the moon, a single ray of light shining down over the mountain containing the Domain  
as if to welcome the birth of the Hero of Time's child. He leapt over the gap between a large archway and the cavernous  
entrance hidden behind the waterfall, landing on the other side, only to feel something trip his leg, causing him to land on his face  
upon the hard rock floor.

------"Oh, sorry, thought you were an intruder." he heard a mocking voice say. Link turned to look up at a fairly short Zoran, covered  
in burns, bruises and wearing an eyepatch, smirking down at him. Link stood up and brushed himself off with an aggrivated  
grunt, only to be shoved down again by the same Zoran guard. "What's the rush, blondie?"  
------"Look, I don't have time for this. If you have a problem with me, we'll talk about it later." Link said as he got up again, only  
to choke as he felt the collar of his tunic being grabbed from behind the moment he took off running.  
------"You may have tricked the Queen to gain her trust, but I know what you really are, kid." the fairly short Zoran man said.  
"You're nothing but a common criminal with the devil's luc-- AGH!"

------Link grabbed one of the Zoran's hands and quickly threw him over his shoulder and onto the stone. "Sorry about that.  
Didn't have much of a choice!" Link said with a sheepish grin to the fallen Zora, before leaping into the center pool. The guard  
sat up with a growl from the pain of his burns and bruises hitting the cold ground once more, walking over to his post and picking  
up a mug of coffee, taking a long sip of it. "One of these days, kid.. One of these days..."

-

-

------Link swam deep into the large pool, the collar of his blue tunic tightening against his neck and acting as gills. The young  
Hylian man swam as fast as he could through the underwater passageway, which seemed strangely illuminated from an unearthly  
light in the distant exit to the tunnel. After what felt like an eternity of swimming, Link emerged onto the shore of a small island  
in a cave whose walls were lined with shining crystals, one brilliant prism in the center of the island reflecting the pale moon  
light, bathing the entire sanctuary in a calm, unearthly glow. He looked over to see Ruto lying nearby in the edge of the water,  
the flowing silky blue fins on her arms making her resemble an angel in the unusual lighting, water glistening off her form, although  
her face looked far from angelic at the moment.  
-----"It's.. about time..!" she said in a strained voice.  
-----"Sorry! I thought it was going to happen for another nine months.." Link said  
-----"Where'd you get... THAT crazy idea..!?" Ruto exclaimed, as Link walked up to her, noticing for the first time she had  
suddenly grown a little bulge in her belly that was slowly moving down.  
-----"How are you feeling?" Link said, taking her hand in his, only to have it nearly crushed in her iron grip, feeling her claws  
nearly pierce his skin.  
-----"I'm trying to push.. a large, hard egg... out of my body... How do you THINK I feel..!?" exclaimed Ruto between  
breaths, before letting out a cry as the Zora egg got closer to emerging, a thin crimson cloud filling the waters between her  
legs. Link cringed as he felt five claws penetrate his hand a little, feeling as if his hand was about to break, though before  
Ruto got the chance, Link felt her grip soften as she panted for air, a large round egg about the size of a basketball floating to  
the surface of the water. Ruto slid into the water a bit and sat up, cradling the egg gently as it floated in the water, Link sliding  
to sit next to her with his arm around her waist. "I love you Link..." she said softly, turning to look into his azure eyes,  
"... but if you ever ... put me through this again... I'm going to kill you..."

-

-

-

------Jack rushed through the dark hallways of the Oracle's home, moving swiftly yet as silently as a ghost, feeling the warmth from  
torches come and go from both sides. He took several sharp turns along different corridors, continuing to crawl among the shadows of  
the ceilings to avoid detection. Then, finally, he emerged into a grand library, dropping onto the floor as he entered and slamming the  
door shut, locking it.  
------"Hey! You're not supposed to be in here!" he heard the familiar voice of the keeper of the archives - the only sound Jack  
needed to hear to pounce on the man in an instant, pinning him to the ground. The man stared up in horror at the monstrosity on top  
of him, gazing into his empty eye sockets and monsterous face, his heart racing as he trembled beneath the beast.  
------"I'm here for the final pieces to the puzzle." Jack said calmly.  
------"I-I've already told you... everything I know.. I'm already in hot water, Jack... she's getting suspicious..." the man said  
nervously. Jack sighed as he slowly raised one of his long, bladed appendages.  
------"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this."  
------"G.. Go ahead, k-kill me.. I'd rather d-die than face the Oracle's wrath..." the man said.  
------Jack sighed, as he remembered being that fearful of the witch once, and withdrew his talon. "Look, Joe. I've already freed King  
Garland from the Oracle's grasp. As soon as I return to the cavern and take more of the antidote, I'll free you and whoever else isn't  
foolishly loyal to Her will. All I need is some information to relay to the real heroes... in case we're found out prematurely."  
------"... you.. you can really remove the Mark?" the man asked. Jack pulled up his sleeves to reveal the lack of any marking  
whatsoever. "So it's true... Those who regret joining this fool cult can finally be free... Why didn't you bring enough for everyone  
the first time, Jack?"  
------"I was rushed. We did have a King dying at dawn, remember?" said Jack. "The main thing I need to know is this prophecy  
of hers that's inspired her to do all of this."  
------"It'd be a lot easier on me if you'd just read it youself..." Joe said without thinking.  
------"Yes, well, unless it's in Braille, that could take a while." Jack said, reaching up to put a finger inside one of his empty eye  
sockets, causing his friend to flinch a bit.  
------"Right... Let me just find that book.." the man said, Jack helping him up before he strode into the archives, browsing through  
various books and scrolls, ignoring most of them. "You know, she really is a remarkable woman, even without that cursed Mark."  
------"The only power she was blessed with is clairvoyance, and she never once worked on perfecting it. All she learned in her  
years of studying witchcraft was flight and teleportation. The rest of her powers came from the ritual of the Mark of the Goddess." Jack  
said.  
------"I tell her everytime she comes here to leave everything in order... is it so much to ask!?" Joe yelled in in exhasperation, kicking  
one of the stone bookshelves. "How do you know so much about her, anyway?"  
------"I've done my research, found a few of the diary pages she hid in here." Jack answered with a smirk. "Malevolent since  
childhood, that one."  
------"Books on reincarnation, transmogrification... These aren't supposed to be mixed in with ancient mythology..." grumbled the  
archivist. "Disorderly witch... Here it is!" he exclaimed at last, pulling out a thick, old book, flipping through its pages. "Let's see  
here... Dieties.. who names a god 'Lord Jabu-Jabu'? .. ah, right, the Zorans... Majora... that page is folded back for some reason...  
hm... Minish mythology... Ah, here we are, she had this page marked as well.. Oh, my, it's in an ancient text..."  
------"Can you still read it?"  
------"Of coarse I can still read it. It just... isn't easy." he said with a sigh, pushing the pair of spectacles on his nose up a bit.  
"... Hmm... Oh, dear, this sounds bad..."  
------"What can you make out?" Jack asked.

------"The Chosen One, tainted by darkness and infautuated with the incarnation of an ancient evil, will take the power of the  
Trinity, revive a powerful evil, and forever change the world..."

------Both of them turned around to see a pale woman in a black cloak standing behind them, her emerald eyes glaring at the  
pair of meddlers as she slowly held her hand towards the two. "I knew you were up to something, you pitiful worm.." she said  
coldly as she clenched her fist, green electricity surging through the archivist's body, paralyzing him as he fell to the ground,  
writhing in agony. She glared at Jack as the other man's body began smoking, Jack smirking at her as he bared his four  
bladed appendages.  
------"Let's see how your magic fares against someone who isn't bound to you, Mistress." Jack said as he prepared to  
end this war tonight...

-

-

End Chapter

(A/N: I was planning on finishing the fight scene this chapter, but I figure it'll be a good cliffhanger,  
and I was in dire need of an update, so you people can stop hating me. ; )


End file.
